How to Beat Cliff in Pokemon GO - Counters and Lineup

Cliff got a new team on October 2, when the Harvest Festival: Taken Over event reshuffled every Team GO Rocket Leader. He now leads with Shadow Cubone, adds Shadow Golurk and Shadow Galarian Weezing to his middle slot, and still closes with a strong final three. This guide covers Cliff's current lineup, the best counters for each phase, and the Pokemon that can cover most of his team.

Cliff's Current Pokemon Lineup (October 2026)

Cliff's first slot is fixed, and his second and third slots each rotate between three options.

Here's what changed from last month. Cubone replaced Axew as his lead, so your Dragon and Ice openers are no longer the default. Golurk joined slot two, and the Weezing he uses is now the Galarian form, which is Poison and Fairy. His final slot is the same as before.

Cubone leads every single time, so you always know what you are walking into for the opening exchange. The real challenge is guessing slots two and three.

Quick Guide: Cliff Counters at a Glance

Shadow Cubone: The Opening Fight

Cubone is a pure Ground type, so it folds fast to Water, Grass, and Ice attacks. Since it leads every battle, use your first slot to burn through Cliff's shields quickly rather than to deal maximum damage.

Keep Electric types out of the lead. Cubone's Ground typing double resists Electric moves, so a Magnezone or Raikou lead barely dents it.

Cliff shields your first two charged attacks, so lead with a Pokemon that charges energy quickly. Greninja's Water Shuriken builds energy fast, which forces Cliff to waste shields early and leaves his next two Pokemon exposed.

Phase Two: Snorlax, Golurk, or Galarian Weezing

This is where preparation really pays off. These three share almost no counters, so you need a flexible middle slot.

Two traps catch players who just bring a Fighting type for this slot:

• Golurk double resists Fighting moves, because it is part Ghost. Your Lucario does almost nothing to it.
• Galarian Weezing also double resists Fighting moves, since both Poison and Fairy resist them. The old pure Poison Weezing was much easier.

So a Fighting type only works against one of the three options here. That's why a Water or Ground attacker makes a safer middle slot this month.

Here is a tip for Snorlax that most players overlook. Snorlax often carries Lick and Zen Headbutt as its fast moves. Those are Ghost and Psychic type, and Dark type Pokemon resist both. A Pokemon like Obstagoon or Pangoro won't hit Snorlax super effectively, but it survives noticeably longer than a pure Fighting attacker. If your Fighting counters keep fainting to fast move pressure, a tanky Dark type grinds Snorlax down more safely.

Phase Three: Tyranitar, Gallade, or Camerupt

The final slot decides how the fight wraps up, and each option needs a different response.

Shadow Tyranitar is Rock and Dark, and it is double weak to Fighting moves. It is also weak to Bug, Fairy, Grass, Ground, Steel, and Water. Lucario and Terrakion (Double Kick, Sacred Sword) handle it well, and Primarina works too if your Fighting types are already worn down.

Shadow Gallade is Psychic and Fighting, weak to Fairy, Flying, and Ghost moves. Primarina with Charm and Disarming Voice hits it hard. Altered Giratina (Shadow Claw, Shadow Ball) and Moltres (Wing Attack, Sky Attack) also get the job done.

Shadow Camerupt is Fire and Ground, and it is double weak to Water while also weak to Ground moves. Kyogre, Greninja, and Swampert all shred through it quickly.

Since you cannot predict which of the three shows up, a flexible closer matters more than a specialized one. Primarina stands out because its Fairy and Water moves cover Tyranitar, Gallade, and Camerupt, making it a strong universal pick for the last slot. For a broader view of how these Pokemon rank outside Rocket battles, our Pokemon GO tier list for 2026 is worth a look.

Best Team to Beat Cliff

Mamoswine deserves special mention here. Its Ice moves beat Cubone and Golurk, and a Ground charged move like High Horsepower adds super effective damage against Galarian Weezing, Tyranitar, and Camerupt. Few single Pokemon cover this much of one Leader's team, so if you only have one strong Pokemon ready for Cliff this month, make it Mamoswine.

Just watch Camerupt's Fire moves, which hit Mamoswine super effectively. If Camerupt appears, switch to Primarina or a Water type instead.

Budget Team Option

Building a roster like this often means catching or powering up specific Pokemon fast. If you need extra resources, a Pokemon GO top up on LDShop can help you prepare your team faster.

If you still need a strong copy of any of these counters, our raid schedule shows which bosses are available this month.

How to Actually Reach Cliff

Cliff does not appear on demand. Defeat Team GO Rocket Grunts to collect Mysterious Components, and combine six of them into a Rocket Radar. Once the radar is active, it leads you to a Leader, though the game does not tell you which one until you arrive. Cliff shows up roughly a third of the time, so patience matters here.

Losing the fight does not waste your radar. You can retry as many times as needed against the same Leader until you win, so treat early attempts as scouting runs to learn his slot two and three picks.

During the takeover, which ran until October 5 at 8:00 PM local time, Team GO Rocket appeared more often at PokeStops, and balloons showed up every two hours. Event research also gave out Mysterious Components, making Rocket Radars faster to build during the event. Timing your grind around an active Pokemon GO Pass can still make the process more rewarding when similar events return.

Rewards Worth the Effort

Beating Cliff always grants:

• 1,000 Stardust
• Three Shadow Shards
• Two random item bundles from a pool that includes Revives, Max Revives, Hyper Potions, Max Potions, a Unova Stone, or a 12 km Strange Egg
• A guaranteed Shadow Cubone encounter

Every Shadow Cubone caught this way can be shiny, with community estimates placing the odds at about 1 in 64. A shiny Shadow Cubone evolves into a shiny Shadow Marowak for 50 candy.

The October 5 Frustration-removal window has ended. If you caught a strong Shadow Cubone during the event, you can still power it up later, but removing Frustration now requires a future Team GO Rocket event. Big events like the Pokemon Horizons celebration and the 10th anniversary event brought their own bonuses, but this kind of Frustration window comes around far less often.

Conclusion

Cliff's new Cubone lead in Pokemon GO rewards Water, Grass, and Ice openers, while his tougher middle slot punishes teams that lean only on Fighting types. Build around Mamoswine, Lucario, and Primarina, bait his shields early, and use the first attempt to scout his rotating picks. With the right coverage, Cliff becomes much more consistent to beat.